Kennebunkport. A short get-away. Wanted to absorb the town’s tranquility. It had always been a refuge. It’s still fun, but no longer tranquil. The Bush family, who once roamed the town acknowledged as neighbors from the point, transformed it by getting elected president. On shop features logo stuff, marked #41 and #43. Cute.

Tourists enthusiastically criss-cross Dock Square, but dodging traffic on a weekend approximates Manhattan. Allison’s, the little greasy spoon where my brother once cooked breakfast, specifically “eggs with hats,” now does lunch and dinner at much higher prices. Breakfast elsewhere downtown overpriced and underwhelming. However, it’s easier to find an ice cream cone. And to its credit, the town has resisted turning into a mall.

Most of the old shops are gone, like the one that sold sturdy canvas bags and fowl weather gear. The aging hippie artists making pottery have fled or retired. And the beloved bookshop that overlooked the trickling river has closed. A sleeker, if less funky, book shop has opened on the edge of town.

So has an Irish pub on the river’s edge with live music performed in a beautiful atmosphere outdoors. The staff doesn’t exactly advertise it. Recent exchange:

“Do you have live music?”

“I expect so.”

“Does that mean you have a band.”

“I expect so.”

“Are they playing tonight?”

“I expect so.”

“I don’t quite comprehend, does I expect so mean yes?”

“I expect so?”

The candle shop remains a stalwart. The best artisan shop on a corner of Dock Square has expanded. The White Barn upholds its standards. So do many of the inns, the old wooden ones maintaining their musty chic, the new and polished ones, still others brimming with antique splendor. And the honor parking continues, although a paid lot overflows.

Still, I miss the eggs with hats.

TO MAKE EGGS WITH HATS: Take a slice or several slices of bread and cut a circular hole in the center with a sharp knife. Melt butter in the bottom of a skillet. Toast the cut outs in the skillet on both sides; remove from the skillet and set aside, keeping warm. Put as many slices of bread into the skillet as it will hold, adding more butter, if needed. Toast on one side. Flip to the other side. Break a whole egg into the center of the bread and cook until egg is nearly done. It will attach to the toast. Turn over gently with a spatula. Transfer to a plate, and top with the cut out toast (the hat).

lindabcooks

Kennebunkport. A short get-away. Wanted to absorb the town’s tranquility. It had always been a refuge. It’s still fun, but no longer tranquil. The Bush family, who once roamed the town acknowledged as neighbors from the point, transformed it by getting elected president. On shop features logo stuff, marked #41 and #43. Cute.

Tourists enthusiastically criss-cross Dock Square, but dodging traffic on a weekend approximates Manhattan. Allison’s, the little greasy spoon where my brother once cooked breakfast, specifically “eggs with hats,” now does lunch and dinner at much higher prices. Breakfast elsewhere downtown overpriced and underwhelming. However, it’s easier to find an ice cream cone. And to its credit, the town has resisted turning into a mall.

Most of the old shops are gone, like the one that sold sturdy canvas bags and fowl weather gear. The aging hippie artists making pottery have fled or retired. And the beloved bookshop that overlooked the trickling river has closed. A sleeker, if less funky, book shop has opened on the edge of town.

So has an Irish pub on the river’s edge with live music performed in a beautiful atmosphere outdoors. The staff doesn’t exactly advertise it. Recent exchange:

“Do you have live music?”

“I expect so.”

“Does that mean you have a band.”

“I expect so.”

“Are they playing tonight?”

“I expect so.”

“I don’t quite comprehend, does I expect so mean yes?”

“I expect so?”

The candle shop remains a stalwart. The best artisan shop on a corner of Dock Square has expanded. The White Barn upholds its standards. So do many of the inns, the old wooden ones maintaining their musty chic, the new and polished ones, still others brimming with antique splendor. And the honor parking continues, although a paid lot overflows.

Still, I miss the eggs with hats.

TO MAKE EGGS WITH HATS: Take a slice or several slices of bread and cut a circular hole in the center with a sharp knife. Melt butter in the bottom of a skillet. Toast the cut outs in the skillet on both sides; remove from the skillet and set aside, keeping warm. Put as many slices of bread into the skillet as it will hold, adding more butter, if needed. Toast on one side. Flip to the other side. Break a whole egg into the center of the bread and cook until egg is nearly done. It will attach to the toast. Turn over gently with a spatula. Transfer to a plate, and top with the cut out toast (the hat).

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